Former dentist gets 17-1/2 years for child porn

A 50-year-old former suburban dentist was sentenced today to 17-1/2 years in federal prison on child pornography charges, officials said.

John Mantanes of Park Ridge was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Ruben Castillo, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's office in Chicago.

Mantanes had a dental office in Mount Prospect and was taken into custody today and must serve at least 85 percent of the sentence before he his eligible for release, officials said. Castillo also ordered that after his release Mantanes must be on court-supervised release for five years.

"My sentence is meant in no uncertain terms to incapacitate you,'' Castillo told Mantanes according to the release.

Mantanes was arrested on Jan. 16, 2009 and pleaded guilty in September to one count of receiving child pornography on his computer, officials said. According to court documents, he had 1,380 images and 141 videos of children, including prepubescent children involved in bestiality and masochistic sexual conduct, officials said.

At an earlier hearing Mantanes' mental health expert testified that the former dentist was a pedophile but there were no allegations that he had molested any children.